Osage Nation Songwriter on His ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Oscar Nom: “Our Whole Tribe Was Going Crazy”

This yr’s Academy Award nominees for finest authentic track embrace earlier winners — Billie Eilish/Finneas, Jon Batiste, Mark Ronson/Andrew Wyatt — and a songwriter with a record-making fifteenth nomination, honorary Oscar recipient Diane Warren. 

The fifth nominee? An Osage Nation tribal member who works as a housing director accommodating low-income Native People and can be a talented musician who has spent 40 years performing Osage ceremonial dances. 

Scott George scored a nom for composing “Wahzhazhe (A Music for My Individuals),” a wonderful, drum-filled, six-minute-plus chant from Apple’s Killers of the Flower Moon. George holds the title of “head singer” in his tribe and was introduced on as a music advisor for Killers, which follows the systematic assassinations of the Osage folks within the Twenties by white settlers to take management of the oil on their land.

When “Marty,” as George calls Martin Scorsese, attended certainly one of George’s tribe’s ceremonial dances and heard their conventional music, the director knew he needed one thing comparable for one of many closing scenes of the movie, which earned 10 Oscar noms together with finest image and finest director.

“We type of knew what he needed, however as a result of that’s our ceremonial [music], we didn’t understand how we had been going to ship that. We don’t actually enable cameras in there,” George explains. “We talked about it
and mentioned, ‘We’ll simply need to make our personal track.’”

“Wahzhazhe” is carried out by Osage Tribal Singers and contains vocals from George and two dozen feminine and male singers who gathered across the drum. For this interview, George sat in his workplace in Shawnee, Oklahoma, taking a break from his regular life at Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the place he’s labored for 19 years.

“I’m hoping the cellphone doesn’t ring or one thing whereas I’m sitting right here,” he jokes.

Are you shocked by the nomination? It’s been a really aggressive yr for movie songs.

Not being concerned on this earlier than, we actually didn’t perceive the method. We barely acquired it submitted in time as a result of it needed to be put in a written type. We didn’t actually perceive what we had been in for. Once I’ve talked to different folks and so they mentioned, “Nicely, there have been over 200 songs in there, and the folks judging this had been the composers and musicians,” it actually shed a unique gentle. As a result of at first, I assumed, “Nicely, we’re tied to the film and, type of tough to say, however they’re simply throwing us a bone.” Then once they mentioned that, I mentioned, “Wow, possibly there’s one thing to this.” So I’m like, “Wow, that’s simply loopy.”

I’ve talked to all the blokes and girls that sing with us, and so they can’t imagine it, both. I feel our complete tribe was all going loopy that day [the Oscar nominations were announced]. I had a name from certainly one of my sisters who works within the tribe. She mentioned, “We’d as nicely simply shut this place down. We will’t get nothing carried out.” 

Any talks a few dwell efficiency on the Oscars?

We’re getting hints that which may occur, however I feel which may be extra on Apple’s facet. I don’t know that we’ve heard something from the Academy’s manufacturing committee but. We’re all type of hoping for the possibility. I feel that it will be good to have the ability to do this.

Your nomination is historic in your folks, in addition to Lily Gladstone’s finest actress nod. What’s it prefer to know that you just each are making historical past?

With Lily, it’s not stunning to me that she’s been nominated. She’s nice. 

With us, when you actually needed to take a look at it, our music might be hundreds of years previous. For it to be acknowledged possibly for the primary time ever, it’s overwhelming in that sense. However I’m type of hoping that individuals would possibly take heed to it somewhat extra. You’ll be able to obtain something, and on YouTube you possibly can entry all that stuff. I’ve been singing for over 40 years. All my life, I’ve all the time tried to introduce folks to it. [Those] that don’t have an ear for it, they’re like, “It simply all sounds the identical to me” — in actuality, there’s lots of intricate dips and modifications in tone and every part else that we attempt to put in there. So if anyone had been to present it somewhat time to get used to it, they could come to grasp it somewhat bit higher.

Composer Robbie Robertson handed away final yr and earned a posthumous nomination for scoring the movie. Did you get an opportunity to work with him?

Not one-on-one. No, we didn’t. I feel he wasn’t feeling too good by the point we got here in, however he did decide this track [from the two that were submitted]. We recorded each of these songs after we had practiced them for some time and despatched them to Marty.

What was it like working with Martin Scorsese?

It was fairly neat. After we shot this track, it in all probability took all day — or felt prefer it did. We should’ve sang it a dozen occasions. We acquired to go up with him and sit with him and consider it on the monitor. He launched himself and thanked all of our folks for being on the market. He was very nice to work with. He knew what he needed. 

Is that this your first time composing a track for a movie?

Sure, for a movie, it’s. I’ve composed different songs. Often we compose music for veterans, folks which were honored in no matter means. There’s different causes to compose, however this would be the first time I feel anyone mentioned, “Hey, let’s make one for a film.” Our intention was … after the film’s over, we might use it to honor our personal folks each time one thing comes up. Numerous our individuals are requested to be the pinnacle man dancer or head woman dancer, and we type of frown on them utilizing their household track exterior of our arbor as a result of we’re afraid of individuals will copy it and take it someplace else and do one thing. So this may very well be used for that function. So after the film’s over with, we’ll in all probability attend a dance someplace; it’s probably not a ceremony, however it’s an motion the place we’re going to announce that we’re going to put this track on the drum, which suggests it’s public at that time, that anyone can sing it.

What do you consider the opposite songs which might be nominated? 

Nicely, they’re stunning songs to me, so far as the melodies and the instrumentation, pianos. Lovely songs. I’m shocked in some sense that there’s not an actual peppy track amongst them. The one which Diane Warren composed has somewhat extra pep into it, however most of them are actually stunning, simply stunning songs.

So what’s subsequent for you? Would you need to do extra movie stuff?

Nicely, it’s been enjoyable. I feel I advised anyone the opposite day, “I’ll be glad to see the opposite facet of all this,” type of get again to who I’m and what I do. I don’t know that there will probably be one other alternative so far as you’re speaking about 500+ tribes in the USA, and all of us have our personal music. It might type of need to be peculiar to our personal folks to do something like this once more. As many composers and singers on the market as you noticed sitting round that drum, there’s that many for each tribe at the least.

I’m certain lots of them additionally really feel represented on this track and on this movie as nicely…

I’m hoping so. I’ve heard again from a number of the youthful technology that I’m round. Once they first heard it, that was their saying, “Why don’t you go put it on the drum, Uncle?” And I’m like, “Nicely, I don’t know.” I mentioned, “Let’s get this over with first after which we are able to, and you then guys can sing it.” So that they’ve been listening to it and able to go. I get that feeling, and I’ve heard that already, that individuals are proud that we’re on the market representing not simply us, however all indigenous folks.

Have you ever already thought of what you’re going to put on to the awards? I think about you’re going to take your spouse.

Oh, yeah. Sure. She’s been consuming me up on that a part of it. She’s been purchasing and looking out round and [saying], “What am I going to do?” and all this. She’s the one which stresses out about it. I mentioned, “Nicely, I already know what I’m sporting.” She mentioned, “Nicely, you possibly can’t simply put on that. You bought to put on one thing else.” So we’ll determine it out.

This story first appeared within the Feb. 14 problem of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click on right here to subscribe.